1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and to an installation for stunning poultry and to the obtainable bleeded poultry.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the process for obtaining poultry carcasses and poultry parts and meat it is of major importance that the poultry up to stunning and subsequent bleeding remain in a comfortable stage of good feeling. Stress is to be avoided as much as possible. If the poultry after being brought in a suspended position hanging downwardly from the legs, is not in a stage of good feeling and relaxation, it will be difficult if at all possible to correctly stun or anaesthetize the animal prior to bleeding after neck cutting. The animal will become stressed and will fiddle and sway around by waving with its wings. In such a situation stunning will occur in an uncontrolled manner so that there is a real risk that an animal is not stunned prior to neck cutting. This is considered an unacceptable impact on correct animal treatment and an offence of animal integrity. More and more such situations are no longer accepted by the public and often opposition is raised against such manner of animal handling by inter governmental organisations and action groups. With the result that governmental regulations become more stringent in this respect.
In addition, if poultry under stress its muscles will contract resulting in insufficient bleeding and debleeding. This will have an adverse effect on the ultimate quality of the obtained slaughtered poultry.
Legislation requires that the poultry is immediately rendered unconscious after stunning and remains unconscious until death ensues. Known methods for stunning of poultry comprise an effort to stun the poultry animal after being suspended at their legs. This stunning may comprise electro-stunning by head stunning or cloaca stunning. Electro-stunning takes place by dipping the head of the poultry into a water bath. A water bath is a legally accepted method for electro-stunning. For proper stunning is required, that each individual poultry animal receives generally a minimum of about 100 mA to 400 mA. However, it appeared that the efficacy of the stunning is highly depended on the quality of the contact between the animal and the electrodes, the number of animals present in the water bath, and the frequency and voltage applied. The differences in contact quality are such that large numbers of animals are not properly stunned before neck cutting. The result is that the use of a water bath is strongly discouraged because it is impossible to guarantee that each animal is effectively stunned for a period of time sufficient for neck cutting and correctly killing of the poultry.
Furthermore, the suspended animal may be anxious in exploring the surroundings while suspended. This means that the animal is relatively movable with head and/or wings which makes electro-stunning relatively uncontrolled and often insufficient or not effective.